Registration Is Now Open for the AWA Valentine's Event Celebrate Chinese
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BAMBOO TELEGRAPH FOR ALL WOMEN, ALL WALKS OF LIFE, ALL NATIONALITIES JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019 Registration is now open for the AWA valentine’s event SIGN UP FOR OUR NEXT EXCITING FOREIGN TOUR TO BEAUTIFUL BALI celebrate chinese new NEW YEAR’S TIPS year with AN awa lunch TO CLEAN UP YOUR or dinner CLOSET, COMPUTER AND KIDS CLUTTER Showroom/Warehouse, No.1, Syed Alwi Road, #03-02, Song Lin Building, 207628 BTJAN/FEB 2019 Bamboo Telegraph Production Team Contents BT Editors Tori Nelson Niki Cholet 2 President’s Message 6 [email protected] 3 Board Nominations 4 BT Staff Arts & Culture Helena A. Cochrane 5 Valentine’s Event Lorraine Graybill 6 Community Service Kanika Karu Prachi Rangan 8 Member Spotlight Celine Suiter 10 Tech Talk 12 11 Beauty & Fashion BT Advertising Robin Phillips 12 Foreign Tours [email protected] 13 AWA Workshops 14 Ready in 5 Visit us on the internet: 15 www.awasingapore.org Model Call & Fashion Show 16 Photography 16 Facebook: 18 Local Tours American Women’s Association of 21 The Fork and Chopstick Singapore - AWA 22 Home Tour Questions, comments andadministrative 25 You’re Not Alone issues, please email us: 26 Carpet Auction [email protected] 27 International Choir 22 Printed by 28 Tennis Xpress Print (Pte) Ltd 29 Running 6880-2881, fax 6880-2998 [email protected] 30 Golf MCI (P) 099/06/2018 31 Writers’ Block 32 Calendar 29 AWA Registration Policies • Bookings open on the first working day of the month. • You must register in advance to attend an event, online registration is available at www.awasingapore.org • If an event is full, please join the waitlist. If a member wishes to cancel & cannot find a replacement, they can cancel their space with the AWA office. The space will then be offered to the waitlist, in date order. • The event ends at approximately the listed time. • Only adults over 18 years may attend AWA tours unless otherwise designated. • Family members and out of town guests pay AWA member price, other Singapore residents pay the guest price. AWA Cancellation Policies • If the event is marked NO CANCELLATION, then no refund can be given. • All other AWA event fees include a $5 non-refundable admin charge. This cannot be returned under any circumstances. • You may cancel your attendance at an event by emailing [email protected] 4 working days prior to the event. • If you paid online, we will refund you via Paypal. If you paid by any other method you will be asked for your preferred refund method, cash or check. • You may transfer your attendance to another AWA member or to another identical event (e.g. Mahjong game to Mahjong game) no less than 4 working days prior to the event, by emailing [email protected] with the new attendee’s name. • Cancellations received within 4 working days of the event will not be refunded. Please be advised that any names listed in this publication, the AWA directory or any other material published by AWA are for the exclusive use of AWA members only. Any commercial use is strictly prohibited. The Bamboo Telegraph is published 10 times per year. The American Women’s Association and the Bamboo Telegraph neither endorse nor take responsibility for the opinions expressed herein. Please address all comments and queries to the Bamboo Telegraph Editor. AWA does not endorse or promote any product or service offered through any advertisement that may appear in the Bamboo Telegraph. BAMBOO TELEGRAPH JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019 WWW.AWASINGAPORE.ORG 1 President's Message...... Although the Western New Year’s celebrations have concluded, Singapore is preparing for its biggest holiday of the year - Chinese New Year. Think Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s all celebrated together over the course of a few days! Chinese New Year is the most important festival in the Chinese calendar. Preparations for the celebrations include cleaning the house, buying ingredients for feasts and a variety of auspicious items to decorate the home. It is impossible not to be caught up in the energy of this festival as Mel Rice you see people squeezed into the crowded temples to pray for good fortune as well as festive markets, special food and shocking red lanterns that adorn the city. Determining the date of Chinese New Year requires some complicated calculations. In most cases, President’s Message it falls on the second new moon after the winter solstice, which means that Chinese New Year typically occurs in late January or during one of the first three weeks of February. The Chinese calendar follows a 12-year cycle, and each year is associated with an animal, such as the tiger, rabbit and dragon etc. Every new year marks the end of the reign of one animal and the beginning of the next. For example, 2017 was the year of the rooster, 2018 was the year of the dog and 2019 will be the year of the pig. Those born under the sign of an animal are thought to possess the qualities associated with it. According to these beliefs, people born in a pig year are happy, sincere and brave. If you are interested in learning more about Chinese traditions and culture, come join us on Thursday 31st January or Friday 1st February to experience our local tour “Chinatown New Year Walk Lunch/Chinatown New Year Dinner”. Both tours offer the opportunity to learn more about the Chinese calendar, and the customs and taboos of this exciting festival. While you stroll the quaint streets, you’ll see a bakery making New Year cakes, shops with ritual papers and incense offered to gods for prosperity and a street bazaar selling festive goods; a tour not to be missed! After the lion dances are over and the red confetti has been swept away, join us for the AWA’s first ever Valentine’s event, “Pop, Clink, Fizz” on Thursday 14th February at 7:00 pm at the Arts House. Come with your significant other or gather your girlfriends to toast the evening and peruse some meticulously selected vendors. Whether you are new to Singapore, working full-time, a long term expat or a humanitarian at heart, AWA is truly for all women, all walks of life. It doesn’t matter where in the world you come from or how long you have been in Singapore; you can always make a new friend...that’s what the AWA sisterhood is all about. So grab a friend and introduce them to all the great activities and events that AWA has to offer. American Women’s Association FAQ’s/Important Information of Singapore • The AWA welcomes all nationalities, not just Americans. • AWA guest fees apply to Singapore residents. Out of town guests and family 15 Scotts Road #03-01 members pay the AWA member price. Singapore 228218 • Guests are entitled to attend 2 events (in total, not per year) before we ask General Manager: Sarah Cockerill them to join the AWA to continue participating. Main: 6734-4895 • You can register for membership and events any time on our website Office Hours: www.awasingapore.org Monday-Friday 9:30 am to 4:00 pm www.awasingapore.org AWA MISSION STATEMENT: The American Women's Association is a sisterhood of women from around the world, who come together to enhance their Singapore experience through fulfilling volunteer run events and activities. 2 WWW.AWASINGAPORE.ORG BAMBOO TELEGRAPH JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019 AWA IS LOOKING FOR NOMINATIONS FOR ITS BOARD For the AWA to thrive it needs passionate, committed board members. The board guides the AWA throughout the year, Board Nominations making it the vibrant, active group it is today. If you have the time and ability to help lead this fantastic group from June 2019 to June 2020, we would love to hear from you. Please email [email protected] if you would like to stand for any of these positions, or if you would like to nominate another member. We will have a fun, exploratory coffee morning on Tuesday, March 5, from 10am to noon – if you are interested in learning more about what is involved in being a board member, we would love you to come to meet current board members and learn more – no obligation! You can register for the coffee on the website starting Jan 1. The deadline for nominations is March 31, 2019. The slate of officers for the Executive Board is presented to our membership for approval at the Annual General Meeting to be held on Tuesday, May 7, 2019. The Executive Board positions are as follows: Communications Director Responsible for AWA communications, which include the President Bamboo Telegraph magazine, website, broadcast email, Leads and directs the affairs of the AWA, setting goals and and social media. the specific tone of the AWA during her term in office. Non-Executive Board members are appointed positions Vice-President that are equally involved in the running of the AWA. The Responsible for our membership numbers, the General Non-Executive Board positions are as follows: Meeting and Volunteer Appreciation. Social, Special Interest, Sports & Major Events Chairs Secretary The above volunteer positions act as a conduit between the Responsible for accurate record keeping within the board and the sub-committees. Their duties are to maintain AWA, including board meeting minutes, and all official knowledge and awareness of all sub-committee activities correspondence, including statutory filings, such as licenses and assist where needed. This may include chairing ad-hoc and insurance. events if necessary. Treasurer Community Service Chair The financial conscience of the AWA. Monitors P&L Provides AWA members with information about community performance and communicates the financial health of the service agencies and organizations in Singapore and gives AWA to the board.